


Our Souls at Night

by tvmoviemaniac



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Slow Romance, idk - Freeform, rhink
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-05
Updated: 2018-01-25
Packaged: 2019-02-28 20:33:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13279362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tvmoviemaniac/pseuds/tvmoviemaniac
Summary: Rhett and Link, two elderly people who've lived next to each other for years, had almost no relationship. Then one day Link tries to make a connection with his neighbor by suggesting they begin sleeping in bed together platonically to ease their loneliness.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is basically the plot of a movie with the same name i saw on Netflix. I only watched the trailer but liked the concept, so i am adapting it into a Rhinky story... 
> 
> Hope you like it!

Link woke up in sweat. It has been yet another restless night. He straighten up his body and dragged his feet to the side of the bed.

His back hurt with each move.

As usual, he prepared himself some toast and a cup of coffee. His daughter kept telling him to stop having caffeine for years but when you are a 75 year old widower, you cling on to anything that makes you happy. Coffee made Link happy.

He opened his front door to let the dog out. His dog was nearly as old as he was and she only went out in the morning to poop.

Link liked having a routine. Every morning he would stand at his front porch, coffee at one hand, lazily looking around the neighbourhood he had lived in since his wife died, waiting for his dog to finish her business.

And every morning, another patron of the neighbourhood would be at his own front porch: Rhett.

Rhett and Link had been living in the same street for ... a decade maybe? Link wasn’t sure, he wasn’t that good with time anymore. They had never spoken, discounting the occasional greetings, and the only thing Link knew about the other man was that he was also at around Link’s age and that he didn’t have a family.

Link felt sorry for him, although Rhett did not look sad.

Rhett’s routine seemed to be taking care of his plants in the morning, right at the same time as Link took his dog out.

One of those mornings, while Link was taking a sip from his cup, Rhett raised his head and their eyes met. Even though they were quite a far, Link could see the spark on Rhett’s eyes. He raised his empty hand and waved. Rhett smiled in response and nodded.

* * *

That night, before going to bed, Link looked at himself in the mirror. His blue eyes shined under the crinkles of his face. His hair was all white and he did not stand as tall as he used to. He was tired and yet did not want to go to bed.

Nights were the toughest.

He missed having another body next to him on the bed; talking effortlessly until they fell asleep, sharing the warmth of the blankets, knowing that when he woke up from his nightmares he wouldn't be alone.

He didn’t want to be alone.

* * *

 

Link couldn't remember how he had came up with this idea. However it was a little too late to question it now, as he had already ringed his neighbours doorbell. He stepped back and started fidgeting with his fingers. Why was he this nervous anyways? They were both elderly men, lonely men, and there was nothing weird about this.

The door opened with a creak, the sound making Link wince.

Rhett did not look as old as Link. His eyes had fires burning behind their stormy-green exterior. His hair was not exactly white, but some sort of a yellowish-white? He had an apron on and his hands were covered in sawdust. Link couldn’t read any emotions on his face.

“Hello there, neighbour. I hope I'm not interrupting anything?”

Link had a smile on his face and hoped the other man couldn’t see the anxiety behind it.

Rhett’s previously emotionless face lit up with a sincere smile,

“No, no. I was just working on my wood work. How can i help you?”

Link eased up a little,

“Uhmm … so we’ve been living in the same street for a long time and i thought it was due time we met each other.”

He broadened his smile as he extended his hand forward,

“My name is Lincoln but everybody calls me Link.”

The other man took Links hand,

“Hey there Link, my name is Rhett.”

Maybe sensing an awkward silence coming up Rhett added,

“Would you like to come in?”

* * *

 

After they had settled down in the living room with their hot tea, Link started talking:

“Okay, so, i know this may sound weird at first but hear me out..”

Rhett interrupted,

“I love weird. Go on…”

 Link smiled in response and continued,

“Uhm, so, i’ve lost my wife … a long time ago, and i have been living on my own for a while now. My daughter comes to visit every now and then but she has her own life and i understand that. But, the thing is, the nights … uhmm … the nights have been really hard for me. I could manage through the day, but there is something … wrong … with sleeping on my bed alone. I haven’t had a good nights sleep for such a long time.” 

Link paused to see Rhett’s reaction to all this.

The other man just raised one of his eyebrows and made a motion with his hand that probably meant “yes, aaand…”

“So what i am saying is, i have a proposition for you.”

Rhett put down his tea now.

“I know that you live alone as well and, well, probably sleep alone too. So how about … we sleep … together?”

Rhett’s eyes widened in shock which made Link realise how his question might have sounded.

“Oh no no, i don’t mean sex or anything. It’s about getting through the night, you know?”

Link chuckled nervously as he leaned back on his seat,

“The truth is, i am lonely. And the nights are the worst…”

There was silence for a moment,

“So. what do you say?”

He picked up his mug to have something to do with his hands, Rhett followed suit.

After taking a sip from his own cup, Rhett asked,

“Why me?”

Was he … flirting? Or was he literally curious? Of course he was curious, who wouldn’t be! Hah, flirting! Link cursed himself for thinking such a stupid thing.

“You always seemed nice. I mean, i also knew you were … alone. So i thought, you know..”

Rhett saved him from rambling even more,

“Okay, why not.”    


	2. Chapter 2

The first night was the weirdest.

They haven’t settled on a certain time so Rhett didn’t really know when he should go over to his neighbours house. Link on the other hand was quite relieved that Rhett had agreed to this in the first place.

It was past 11 when Link’s doorbell rang.

Rhett had a shopping bag in his hand and a smile on his face -as always.

Link invited him in and they settled in the living room, the sound from the tv providing a background noise to their lives.

“So, how was your day?” Rhett asked, putting down his bag next to the sofa.

“Nice, normal. I watched this great documentary about race cars on tv. What about you?”

“Oh that's nice.I finished the coffee table i was working on. It is pure oak and it only took me a week! I am getting rather good at wood-work.”

 

So they talked about Rhett’s wood-work and race cars, they talked maybe a bit too much about race cars. It was past 1 am when Link couldn’t hold in his yawns anymore. But it was Rhett who took the initiative:

“I am getting rather sleepy, should we go to bed?”

Link was more than ready to go to bed, he guided Rhett towards his bedroom and showed him the bed -in a rather awkward way. 

“Uhmm, i’ll be getting myself some water from the kitchen. Would you like some?”

“Oh that would be great, thank you.” Rhett answered, taking his pajamas out of the shopping bag.

When Link came back with a glass of water on each hand, Rhett was half naked. As he put down the glasses on the nightstand, Rhett managed to wriggle himself into his pj top at last. Link was already wearing his pjs, so he turned off the light of the room as Rhett turned on the little light on the nightstand. They got under the blanket, Link on the right side, as usual, and Rhett on the left.

“I don’t think i’ve ever slept in this bed with someone else you know” Link whispered, not needing to speak loudly as it was a silent night.

“I usually don’t sleep with someone, i kinda prefer being alone” Rhett answered.

Link’s face fell a little which made Rhett continue,

“I mean, i don’t like to have contact with others as i sleep, thats what i mean. It keeps me from sleeping. But it’s not like we are gonna cuddle or anything so this situation is no problem.”

Even if Rhett wasn’t saying it, he was actually happy to be spending the night with someone else.

“This actually reminds me of my childhood when we used to have sleepovers at our friends’ houses.”

Link nodded in acknowledgment. They talked through sleepy eyes until both of them fell asleep eventually.

* * *

Days turned into weeks and before they know it, Rhett had been spending the nights at Link’s for almost a month. They had gotten into a rhythm: as the day comes to an end they would have dinner together -either homemade meals at Rhett’s or take-out meals at Link’s- then they would watch a movie. After the hustle of the day was over, they would get into bed and talk. Talk about their lives, their feelings and their dreams. They would discuss impossible scenarios, sometimes argue but mostly just try to make eachother laugh.

Link’s sleep quality had improved drastically. Nowadays, he was always falling asleep with a smile on his face. Sometimes though, they would stay up late; just laughing till tears form on their eyes.

It was as if two pieces of a jigsaw had come together. They understood eachother, heart and soul. It wasn’t only about sleeping anymore, it was friendship. 

Usually Rhett wouldn’t stay for breakfast, which was okay. Neither of them was a morning person and they couldn’t stand the others grumpiness. That was the best part of their arrangement: they didn’t need to deal with each other 24/7. They had their own separate lives, but they had the nights together.

 

The thing that bothered Link the most was the shopping bag. Even after weeks of spending the night at Link’s, Rhett still carried his pjs on a shopping bag back and forth their houses. But why? He decided to confront Rhett about this issue.One morning, as Rhett dressed back into his clothes Link just came out and asked it:

“Why do you carry your pj on that bag?”

Rhett was startled for a moment but did not hesitate,

“In what else can i carry them? This is the most convenient.”

He was sitting on the corner of the bed, opposite Link. He bent over to put on his socks.

“No, that's not what i'm asking. I'm asking why, even after a month, you can't trust me enough to leave your stuff behind?”

He didn’t know if he sounded angry, but he didn’t mind.

Rhett chuckled lightly,

“It’s not about trust, Link. It’s just … i don’t know, i didn’t want to make things difficult for you.”

“I don’t understand. Difficult for me how?”

“İ don’t know. Maybe you’ll have guests over one day and you wouldn’t want me to come over that night, or maybe you don’t want a stranger’s things in your house... There are actually quite a lot of reasons why you might think it rude even.”  

Link turned towards the other man completely.

“Strangers? I wouldn’t call us ‘strangers’.” Link was actually a bit hurt by that notion.

“Of course we’re not. I’m sorry. I just didn’t want to be rude.”

They smiled at each other for some time.

Rhett folded his pjs and put them neatly at the foot of the bed.

“Coffee?” he asked.

“Coffee.” Link responded.

* * *

 

“How about i cook dinner tomorrow?”

They were in bed; lights turned down low, a slight music coming from the radio they left playing in the dining room.

“But you hate cooking” Rhett rolled to his side to face Link.

“Yes, but you always cook for us and i want to return the favor somehow.”

Rhett extended his arm forwards and was met with the welcoming hand of Link. He squeezed the smaller hand lightly.

“Okay, if you want to. And don’t go easy on it, you know how much i like to eat”

Their laughter was loud enough to surpass the faint music.

 

Next day, Link spent the morning trying to find an easy and yet impressive meal recipe. He tried out some before realising he couldn’t possibly find all the necessary ingredients or utensils. So he decided on a safe bet: macaroni and cheese. He would also try to cook some meat in the oven. He usually used the oven to heat the frozen pastries he gets from the supermarket so this was going to be a new experience for both Link and the oven.

At 7 pm sharp, Rhett rang the doorbell. The smell coming off from the kitchen was appetizing.

“I think we might have uncovered a secret talent of yours” he joked as he followed Link to the kitchen.

“It’s not much, but i actually liked the outcome.” Link responded as he brought the baked macaroni to the table. They opened up a bottle of wine -the one Rhett had brought because he thought it would be the polite thing to do- and clinked their glasses with grins on their faces.

The dinner was marvellous. They laughed the whole way through, brushing their freakishly-long-legs against each other under the table. Rhett literally ate everything and Link was more than happy to watch him devour food enthusiastically. 

“You know, i’ve been a picky eater my whole life, and i’m not saying this as a negative thing. But seeing how much eating makes you happy makes  _ me _ happy.”

“It  _ does _ make me happy!” Rhett tried to grin without exposing the food in his mouth.

Even though the food wasn't perfect and it wasn't much; overall, it was one of the best dinners either of them ever had. 

* * *

 

That night, Rhett finally got the courage to ask Link about his family.

“So, uhm, i sometimes see a woman coming to visit you. Is that your daughter?”

They were laying in bed, facing each other.

Link’s eyes brighten up for a second.

“Yeah, Lilly. She is the apple of my eye man. She got married couple of years ago and seeing her making a new family makes my heart warm up.” He had a huge smile on his face now, it lit up the dark room.

Rhett had a soft look on his face. He asked some more questions about Link’s family but never talked about his life. Link was so caught up in the memory lane, he didn’t even notice.   


	3. Chapter 3

Link had always had a routine.

He could adjust things accordingly: like he did when his wife passed away or when his daughter moved out. Now, he was doing it with this new relationship he had with his neighbour. He had created a routine for the two of them, which helped him keep his peace of mind. Rhett wasn’t consciously aware of this, as he did not really care for “structure” as much as Link did. They were content and their lives had synced so perfectly neither of them cared to complain.

However Rhett, as a trait of personality, wanted to try new things every so often. He was the one to find different places to order food from, the one to buy clothes he fancied and usually the one to introduce Link to new hobbies. This all happened within the ground of Links routines, of course. They had only been together in their houses; nights at Links and maybe once or twice a late lunch at Rhetts.

They had both heard the talking though.

When you live in a small town, people are bound to know each other and, consequently, talk about each other. Whenever Link went to the supermarket, he could feel the other town elders eyes on him. Rhett had walked past several conversations regarding them, and how curious it was that they were spending the nights together. People did not welcome change with open arms, they usually discredit what they don’t know.

And nobody knew about Rhett and Link’s arrangement.

* * *

It was a rather warm September morning and Rhett had stopped by the towns cafe at his way home from the wood-shop. He used to be able to walk around without getting out of breath. Now, he had to take breaks in his walks for his body to recover. He liked this cafe though, as some of his friends also tended to hang around there. And lo and behold, there they were; three old men sitting at the tables the cafe had put outside, one of them smoking and all of them talking loudly.

“Hey there fellas!” Rhett greeted them as he pulled out a chair to sit.

They all welcomed him into their conversation as Rhett ordered himself some tea. They engaged in small talk for some time, catching up with each others lives. Rhett hadn’t -and wasn’t planning on- talked about Link. Nonetheless, he didn’t have a choice; one of them came out and asked it directly:

“So, what’s the deal with you and that neighbour of yours?”

They were all smiling and Rhett could not sense any judgement. Even though he believed this was none of their business, he didn’t want to ignite their curiosity even brighter by denying to talk about it.

“Uhm, yea, we are really close friends now actually.”

He took a sip from his tea.

“Oh yea, how come you never introduced us?”

“He’s right! And also, why on earth do you only go to  _ his _ house?”

“And by night, as we heard?”

All three of the men were excited to have a new topic to discuss and they didn’t care to hide it.

Their excitement riled up Rhett as well, so he started talking about it

“Here is the things fellas, as you know i had been a lone wolf through most of my life. Link, on the other hand, is a widower and he has been living alone only for the last couple of years. You can say our ‘loneliness’ brought us together. And i am thankful for that, as he turned out to be the best friend i never had throughout my life.”

Rhett had never thought about it in this way, let alone say it aloud.

It made him feel good.

“That’s sweet amigo, but why only the nights?”

“And why haven’t we met this ‘best friend’ of yours yet?”

When it was said like that, Rhett found himself asking the same questions.

“Uhmmm, you know, it isn’t a traditionally founded friendship. Also, it is personal and, uhmmm, we both like to keep it that way.”

The other men exchanged some looks with each other.

“You still haven’t say anything about the nights?”

Rhett was starting to get agitated. What he and Link had was personal and he did not want to discuss it with others without talking to Link about it first. This was a special thing and he did not want to make anything stupid that could off-balance it.

“I have to go now. I’ll see you guys later, okay?”

Rhett got up and left without waiting for a response. He knew it wasn’t the best way to handle things. But hey, nobody’s perfect right?  

* * *

Link’s daughter was coming over today.

She had called ahead, the day before, to inform him. Link had missed her. Because they lived in different parts of the city, and because she was working all week, they hardly ever found time to spent together. She was coming over for brunch. Rhett had gone back to his house like an hour before and had left Link with the stress of setting the table. He had prepared scrambled eggs and fresh orange juice. She was going to bring pastries.

He was almost finished with frying the bacons when she arrived. She was looking beautiful as always. Link hugged her tight, taking in her familiar scent.

“Hi dad”  

They went inside together and Link put on the tea. Sitting across from each other, they chatted about Lilly’s work and her relationship with her husband. They had finished their orange juice, bacon and eggs; now they were enjoying the fresh pastries Lily had brought with nicely brewed tea.

“Enough about me, how are things with you dad?”

Link had pondered about how he’ll explain this new relationship with his neighbour to Lily. She had always been quite protective of her father and Link knew this whole situation was a bit “out-of-the-ordinary”. However, Rhett had become an important part of his life and he needed to share this with her.

“I have a new friend from the neighbourhood”

This seemed like a good way to start.

Lilly raised her eyes with interest,

“Thats nice. Who are they?”

Link reached for his mug of tea before continuing. He wanted the warmth on his hands so that he can keep calm.

“His name is Rhett, he lives down the road. We have been seeing each other for … uhm … couple of months maybe?”

“And you never told me about him?! Oh dad, i am so happy that you are not spending your days sitting in this house all by yourself anymore! So, how did you guys meet?”

Link fidgeted with the cup on his hand,

“Actually it was born out of an arrangement i’ve offered him. We’ve been sleeping together.”

Lily almost spat out her drink.

“Oh, no, oh my god, i should stop saying it like this! It’s not a sexual thing, no. We are just sleeping, that’s all. I had been having a hard time getting through the nights alone, and he was gracious enough to help me with that.”

A smile creeped upon Link’s face as he thought about this.

“Wow, so you went up and invited a total stranger into your house -not just your house but your bed!- and was careless enough to sleep while he was free to do whatever  **in your house!?”**

Link was confused. He thought Lily would be happy knowing that he was no longer alone.

“I mean, if you say it like that, yes. But i trust him. He is a good guy, i promise.”

Lily rose up from her chair,

“You couldn’t have known that! What if he had killed you in your sleep, huh? What if he had robbed your house and vanished? Do you even realise how stupid it was for you to do this?! You could have gotten hurt!”

Link didn’t answer. It was partly because he was too tired to defend himself, and partly because he thought she was right. In hindsight, it was a stupid thing to do. But the outcome has been amazing, so why worry about it now?

He waited till Lily cleared the table and came back to her chair, having calmed down.

“Look, honey, i understand your concerns. But here is the thing: i was lonely. And this isn’t something to confuse with being alone. I was  _ lonely.  _ Do you remember when i first bought this house? You had said it was too big for me and i had said that meant more room for my grandchildren to play. Turns out, you were right: it is too big for me. Everyday it felt like the walls were closing in a little more. But not since i met Rhett. He had lighten up this house once more. We are only ever together at nights but it makes a difference nonetheless. I haven’t slept like this for years. And even though we don’t really talk about these things with each other, i know that he is happier too. He never had a family, Lily. Can you understand how lonely that could get? He does not complain about that of course, but still… And it’s not like i just picked out a random person from the street. I feel … close .... to him. He feels safe. And i need that.”

There was a silence.

Link didn’t dare say anything more.

After a while Lilly just got up, grabbed her bag and left.

Link took a sip from his tea, he knew she understood him.

* * *

That night, Rhett came to Link’s house with a package in his hands.

“What’s this?” Link asked as soon as he opened the door.

“It’s for you.” Rhett smiled, a little nervously Link noted, as he bent down to pet Link’s dog. She (his dogs name was Jade) was a calm little dog and she got along great with Rhett.

It wasn’t a gift-wrapped package, it did not look store bought either. Link took of the top and was greeted with a little wooden flower.

He gently took it out and started inspecting it. It was little bigger than his hand; a lily flower carved out of some sort of wood that smelled fresh.

“After our conversation about your family, i thought you might like a little something regarding your daughter. Her name was Lilly, right?”

Link was actually tearing up. This was so stupid, why was he tearing up over a little wooden figure?

“It’s beautiful.” he whispered.

Rhett either didn’t notice his tears or did not want to make things weird, so he went straight to the living room.

Link joined him as soon as he could pull himself together. He placed the wooden flower figure on top of the coffee table situated between the two armchairs and sat next to Rhett.

“Thank you so much, i love it.”

Link reached out his hand and Rhett took it in his. They smile into each others eyes delicately.

 

“So, i have something to ask” Rhett began, after some silly little jokes to lighten up the mood again.

“Shoot it.”

“I was thinking... We always spend the nights here and i feel a bit bad about that. I feel like i have ‘invaded’ your privacy somehow by becoming this familiar with your house whereas you have only seen my kitchen.”

He was right, but Link couldn’t see where this was going.

“So i was thinking, maybe we can spend the night at my house sometime?”

This was it? Link assumed something more consequential.

“Yes, yes of course.”

Truth be told he was a bit curious about Rhett’s house anyway, but he did not say anything more. Rhett continued,

“Great! I don’t want to jinx anything but i am actually planning on asking you to go out together sometimes. We have been locked inside this house for all this time and we are both aware of the talking in town. I want to clear the air. I want to introduce you to my friends and i want to be able to spend time with you outside our night routine.”

This was all a bit too sudden.

“Oh” was the only respond Link could give.

“I mean, if you are comfortable with that. I wanted to start with a change of house before the outside thing so we can … you know … ease ourselves into a ‘normal’ friendship.”

Rhett was smiling heartily. He hadn’t used the word ‘normal’ as a negative thing and he recognized that Link knew this. It did not make him less nervous though. 

Link slowly got up from his seat, motioning Rhett to do the same.

Rhett had undergone some surgeries regarding his back and Link had had a hip implant so neither of them liked standing that much. But it was out of necessity in this case, because Link had to hug Rhett.

He opened up his arms and wrapped them around his best friend’s body. He rested his cheeks on the taller man’s chest; as big, warm arms bound their bodies together.

“You know, you appear all cold and hard from the outside, but you are actually a teddy bear inside.” Link whispered into Rhett’s sweatshirt.

Rhett’s chuckle moved their bodies together.

Link drew his head back to look into the stormy-green eyes he got so familiar with,

“You are such a considerate guy… I’m in. Let's live our lives to the fullest.”

They both laughed at that.

“But i also have something to ask from you in return,”

Rhett tilted his head to one side in wonderment,

“I want you to meet my daughter.”

**Author's Note:**

> your comments and kudos gives me life, so please interact :3


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